About Wendy Buckingham

Career Background

I bring to your coaching a background that includes being a secretary (in the days before they were called PA’s) - journalism (feature writing not news) - book writing and publishing - broadcasting - small business ownership - audio production - voice over work - life coaching, training and certification and professional speaking.

In 1998 I formally trained with the leading international coaching school CoachU, I graduated as a certified coach in 2000 and then being appointed as a tele-class leader in their training program.

I was also accredited by Results Coaching Systems and completed several of their add-on courses including small business coaching and team coaching. I mentored many new Results Coaches after they completed their training.

I've attended many other business, team and personal growth trainings and workshops over the years – far too many to mention! I was also one of the founding members of the International Coach Federation in Australia.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you so, if you like what you have read on this site and are considering life coaching, please take a moment to arrange a time for a free discovery session.

My Book - Be Your Own Goals Coach

Working with my clients (and myself) over many years, I discovered that guiding anyone to set powerful authentic goals and outcomes was just part of the coaching story.

The real key to a successful, happier, less stress and more fulfilled life was helping them to identify and handle the "stuff" or obstacles, real and perceived, that was blocking their path.

In 2001 I wrote my goal planning and life-skills handbook Ready Set Goal published by Pearson Education (now Penguin). It is now updated and self-published as Be Your Own Goals Coach.

I don't really believe you can successfully coach yourself, but my book gets people on the right track and is like having a mentor on the bookshelf.

Be Your Own Goals Coach brought my work and life experience together in a simple format for success and contains many of the tools I use with my clients.

Speaking Personally

I believe that our highest purpose and challenge is simply to discover the wonder of who we really are and be the best we can be at whatever we choose to do.

Life has been my greatest teacher in coming to realise that it is better to run and stumble and hurt yourself, than to regret never having tried to run at all.

My stumbling has included a “learning” marriage until I met Paul in 1988. We've been married since 1990 and between us we have four terrific daughters.

Highlights in my personal life have included coming to Australia from London, living on a Kibbutz in Israel and trekking five days in the Sinai with a Bedouin guide, camels, but no tent and publishing my books.

To celebrate a milestone birthday I finally turned my “someday” dream of trekking the high altitude trail to Machu Picchu in Peru, into an exhausting if exhilarating 'achieved goal'.

One of my other highlights has been six months working and travelling in the UK and Italy with Paul and achieving my goal of drinking coffee at a cafe in the Piazza San Marco in Venice. Another is living in Thailand for six months and having a real experience of that country.

Giving Back

I believe in giving back to the community and have really enjoyed worked pro bono with recovering drug addicts and disadvantaged teenagers to help to give them the confidence and life-skills to get back on their feet again.

I also support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. My niece Julia Goodwin (who has CF) was a finalist in the 2008 Miss Australia Quest and won the talent section singing "Fever".

She is now an amazing 30 year old woman, and a maths whiz at university, who lives cheerfully (mostly) with this condition which entails spending around 4 hours a day on medical processes to clear her lungs.